Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Monday, Sept. 17, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court faces a potentially damaging delay after a California professor who has accused him of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school publicly identified herself and told her detailed story. Los Angeles Times

-- The University of Palo Alto professor goes on the record. Washington Post

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-- Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford: Will we see a different Washington and a different America? Los Angeles Times

-- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Kavanaugh, a high school accuser and discord inside the resistance. The New Yorker

#MeToo and Hollywood

A year after #MeToo, many movies remain in limbo. The fallout isn’t limited to Weinstein properties. Other movies that have been orphaned amid the #MeToo movement include the latest films by Woody Allen, Roman Polanski and Louis C.K. Distributors have to weigh the cost of releasing these movies against the potential publicity backlash that could scare audiences away. Los Angeles Times

-- Hosting the first Emmys of the #MeToo era, Colin Jost and Michael Che have a lot to prove tonight. Los Angeles Times

Complicated history

Stanford University’s leaders plan to strip some prominent campus references to Junipero Serra, the canonized 18th century priest who established the California mission system that critics now blame for decimating Native American communities. Los Angeles Times

-- The California resistance as through the lens of history. From Serra to President Trump. Has California always been exceptional? Pacific Standard

-- Can Serra be both the founder of California and a shameful racist? Both a saint and a sinner? Mercury News

A $15-billion question

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Who is to blame for California’s most destructive fire? The answer will have huge implications for residents who lost their homes and are trying to rebuild, insurers faced with massive claims and, perhaps most important, to Pacific Gas & Electric. Wall Street estimates the utility giant faces up to $15 billion in liabilities from this and other fires that devastated California’s wine country last year. It has raised the possibility of bankruptcy if it cannot get some relief. Los Angeles Times

Another swing: Frank McCourt has emerged in the sports world — in France. New York Times

CRIME AND COURTS

The fine print: Callers seeking treatment from StemGenex, a La Jolla medical clinic offering stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and other serious ailments, were hoping to hear encouraging news. For many, that’s what they got. Plaintiffs allege in depositions filed in a federal court lawsuit that they were told the clinic had a 90% “success rate” in treating its patients. As it turned out, however, the success rate they cited was inaccurate, former executives say. Los Angeles Times

Naming names: The San Jose diocese will release a list of priests accused of being sexual predators. San Francisco Chronicle

“There is no justice yet”: Six months after the police shooting of Stephon Clark sparked national debate, Sacramento is still seeking answers. Sacramento Bee

DECISION CALIFORNIA

Hey, California voter, way to go! People may say you’re sun-baked, a bit too laid-back and, when it comes to picking presidents, largely irrelevant. But thanks to you, the state is sitting dead center in the November fight for control of Congress. Los Angeles Times

X-ray vision: An amazing artists detective story at the Huntington: How blue is “The Blue Boy”? Los Angeles Times

Listen up: A small theater in Iowa as a lesson for Hollywood. Some doubted the Webster Theater could compete with Netflix and streaming, but Jeff Pingel and Kay Ross kept the faith. The movie marquee, they say, “is the heart of the American downtown.” Los Angeles Times

When life gives you lemons …: San Francisco’s leaning tower is an engineering disaster, but also now a tourist attraction. San Francisco Chronicle

Lens of history: A photographer has made it his mission to go to retirement homes across California and take portraits of military veterans. Orange County Register

Capital infusion: Cash is coming to make L.A. a biotech hub. Will it be enough? Wall Street Journal